Hal’s Blog

The Holy Spirit took me to this story last night. You can read the full details of the text in 1 Kings 13.

There was a man of God who was instructed to travel to Bethel and confront King Jeroboam who was wicked and mocked the holiness of God.

God told the man of God he was not to enter any home or eat and drink with anyone in Bethel. He also told him to leave by another road to return home.

The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.

The man of God spoke the words of the Lord to the King who ordered him to be seized. God intervened and shriveled the King’s hand. The King asked the man of God to pray that his hand would be restored and God answered the prayer.

Then the King asked the man of God to come to his home and dine with him and receive a gift but he refused.

There was an old prophet in Bethel who was told about the incident between the King and the man of God by his sons. The old prophet rode on his donkey and found the man of God resting under a tree.

The old prophet lied to the man of God and told him an angel of God spoke to him and told him to bring the man of God to his home.

The man of God agreed and dined with the old prophet. After the meal the old prophet told the man of God he had disobeyed the instructions of God and would not be buried with his ancestors.

The man of God left to return home and was killed by a lion.

The old prophet found the body and asked his sons to bury the man of God in the tomb reserved for the old prophet. He told his sons to place his body next to the bones of the man of God.

The text doesn’t explain why the old man lied to the man of God. We do know the mistake made by the man of God was not to inquire of the Lord about the veracity of the words of the Old Prophet. This caused him to lose his life.

The spiritual truth in this story is when God speaks with instructions you must obey Him explicitly without any deviations. Do not listen or accept any contradictory wisdom without conferring with God.

God did not want the man of God to enter into the darkness of any home in Bethel or accept any gift. God is holy and commands His people to be holy.

We do not need an explanation from God for His instructions. We are to obey Him explicitly!

The Holy Spirit spoke to me last night through Obidiah about those Christ followers who have been beaten, destroyed and lost most everything.

The country of Edom was established by Esau. The people were strong and prideful. They made a big mistake in participating in the destruction of Jerusalem.

God said as you have done, it shall be done to you. My judgment is over Edom and you shall be destroyed. There will be no survivor in the house of Esau.

The revelation today is there shall be deliverance and holiness in the Body of Christ. The down trodden and forsaken will rise up with strength and the favor of Christ. God will take the possessions of the rich and give them to His remnant people.

There will be a flaming fire in the Body of Christ of conviction, repentance and judgment. God will honor those who honor Him.

If you want to be part of this powerful movement of Christ you must be willing to live for Him above all else and zealously seek His will for your life.

There will be no turning back or shadow of doubt. Jesus will conquer and destroy the works of Satan.

Pray and make intercession for the deliverance of God’s people and this sweeping revival that will create holiness in the Body of Christ.

The Holy Spirit spoke these words to me last night; “Your citizenship is in Heaven”.

The moment you make a decision for Christ you become a citizen of Christ on a pathway to Heaven. You are entitled to all the promises of God and will live with Jesus forever.

We must wait patiently for Jesus to take us to heaven. In the mean time Jesus is at work to transform our human body to conform to His glorious body.

You and I were born to live for self and defy God. The Holy Spirit dwelling within all believers is transforming your natural life into the character of God. The goal of Jesus is to subdue your personality, emotions, thoughts and motives to Himself.

This is the action of becoming crucified with Jesus on the Cross. You literally are baptized into the death and resurrection of Jesus.

We are pilgrims on a journey to our heavenly home. Everything that takes place in your life is preparation to be glorified into His body.

We live in the world but we are no longer of the world. As a new creature in Christ we begin to act like Jesus and see life from His perspective.

Walking with Jesus requires a believer to live by faith anchored to the Holy Spirit. Seek Jesus out for your every need and trust His promises and not what you see with your eyes.

If you go out today and rely on your own thoughts and desires the day will end up in a mess. We have to give the Holy Spirit authority over all the details of our life and this will bring the omniscient wisdom and protection of God.

Concentrate on Jesus through prayer, reading His Word, and listening for His voice. He wants to bless you and give you a life you can never achieve on your own.

It is foolish and dangerous to attempt to live on your own and refuse Jesus who has power and dominion over all things. He can shake the earth, turn the sun into darkness and cause you to tremble in overwhelming fear in His presence.

Jesus was warned. He could be killed if He traveled to Bethany to heal Lazarus.

Jesus prayed and was told to wait a couple days before going to Bethany.

Jesus prayed again and asked God to cover Him with the light of God and protect Him from evil.

Jesus was stating in this biblical text that if we choose to walk at night we will not have the protection of God and will stumble.

The Lord is a lamp unto My feet and a light unto my pathway!

When contemplating a decision the first thing is to inquire of the Lord for His omniscient wisdom. He sees everything in the future.

Secondly, you must walk in the light of Christ. You do this by asking Jesus to cover you with His blood and cleanse you from all darkness.

Give the Holy Spirit authority over your life and walk in oneness with Jesus listening for His voice.

Pray that no weapon formed against you will prosper and He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Jesus will never fail you!

The conflict between a believer and Jesus is the attraction of the world. The world takes our attention away from God.

Most believers schedule time with God like church, morning devotions, and Bible studies. This is a mistake because you are segmenting God from some of your life. God wants access to you at all times. He does not want to be blocked out by your personal schedule.

The remedy is to be single minded in pursing God.

This begins with the start of each day. Prayer sets the course for your day and will minimize distractions.

Prayer is seeking the will of God for today. Commit your works to God and His thoughts will be established within you.

We tend to forget that God is omniscient and sees into your future. This is why we need the wisdom from heaven to walk in oneness with Jesus.

Read the Word each day and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to live out the teachings of Jesus in your life.

You can avoid the distractions from your fleshly desires and the attraction of the world by giving the Holy Spirit authority over your life. He will guide your pathway and warn you about the deceptions of Satan.

Most importantly, God speaks to believers through the Holy Spirit. Listen for the voice of God. You have the mind of Christ.

Jesus is subliminal and always at work below your consciousness. He will bring His thoughts to the forefront if you have an open mind and heart.

Don’t be presumptuous or set in your ways dealing with Jesus. He does not think or act like you. Jesus is unpredictable and tends to be controversial.

Develop the discipline of living in the consciousness of Jesus through prayer and the Holy Spirit. Don’t put limits on God. He wants all of you at all times.

Finally, ask Jesus each morning “How can I please you today”?

The Holy Spirit spoke to me last night about the millions of people living in desperation in the world without any hope.

“I am Jesus and My mission is to appear to all those feeling hopeless and share My unconditional love and the greatness and glory of My name.

I can give you the precious gift of salvation and fill you with joy and strength.

I offer a new life and the ability to live with Me forever in My kingdom of peace and righteousness with a buttress of support against evil.

Turn to Me and give up your other gods. I am the way, the truth and the life. My ways are perfect.

I will seal you with the Holy Spirit. He is My life and will be with you forever.

I will speak to you and guide your pathway with omniscient wisdom from heaven.

I will send My powerful angels to protect and deliver you.

For those of you fearing death be reminded I have conquered death and will never leave you.

There are many today contemplating suicide over their troubles. They see no hope. I am above suicide and will deliver you from darkness. Do not give up your life. It is very valuable to Me.

I have power and dominion over the heavens and earth. There is no power greater than Me.

I will give you eternal hope that you can never find on the earth.

Reach out to Me and I will supply your every need according to My unsearchable riches.

My heart is with the desperate and those living without hope. I will do for you what you can never do for yourself. I am a miracle worker.

I knew you before you were born. I created you with My handiwork. Come to Me. I am a God of hope and victory!”

Jesus has power and dominion over all things. He laid the foundation for the gift of salvation.

If you are a Christ follower the bedrock of your life is Jesus. Everything is built on Him and for Him.

Jesus is the centerpiece of your life and nothing can have more value or attention than Jesus.

The things of the world are in subjugation to Him. If you choose to place importance on worldly living Jesus will create calamities and misery until you let go.

The Christ follower begins each day alone with God. Your sole purpose is to seek the will of God for your life. You do this through prayer, reading the Bible, and listening for the voice of God.

Religion is not part of your foundation. The priority is to walk with the Living Christ under the authority of the Holy Spirit. Religion will compromise the values of Jesus in your life. Religion whitewashes the Word of God to satisfy their own motives and goals.

Walk by faith believing in the promises of God and not what you see with your eyes. Without faith you cannot please God. Faith is a lifestyle of reaching out to Jesus for your every need.

Jesus asks you to be willing to give up everything and follow Him. The Christ follower is not enamored or attached to worldly living. He lives to satisfy Jesus.

Pray for an open heart for the conviction and correction of the Holy Spirit. Your sin will never go away while living on earth.

Jesus knows you better than you know yourself and will test you to the ends of the earth. Jesus wants you to operate with pure motives and be free of idols.

Jesus asks you to be obedient to His instructions regardless of the cost. Your obedience and loyalty will fill you with the righteousness of God.

Don’t try to impersonate Christ; live through His Spirit dwelling within you!

Jesus has issued a wake up call about your salvation. This was delivered to me through Romans 13:11-12.

The days ahead will bring judgements like never seen before. Wars will flame across the world. There will be economic upheaval, famine, hurricanes and global epidemics. Many believers will die.

You must take salvation seriously. Turn away from darkness and live in the light of Christ. Walk upright with Jesus and come clean with the blood of Jesus over drunkenness, partying, lewdness, and sexual lust.

If you reject this warning God will reject you. There is no longer any leniency with Jesus.

The judgment of Christ is over every human being. You are playing with fire to defy God.

This is a time of repentance and self examination. Pray for the forgiveness of Jesus and to live through the purity of the Holy Spirit.

Today is a day of reckoning. Jesus is looking at the harvest. The chaff will burn up with unquenchable fire and the wheat will be preserved in the barn with Jesus forever.

Jesus is perfect. He is without sin.

How can you and I who are human beings with an inner nature to live for self and satisfy our fleshly desires become an exact copy of Jesus? The answer is it is not possible. You have been sold under sin. This happened before you were born to all human beings by the actions of Adam and Eve.

God created a perfect solution to rectify living for self. This happens when you choose to live out of a new body replicated as an exact copy of Jesus.

Your natural body which can never please God is replaced by a new creature in Christ Jesus.

The moment you make a decision for Jesus you are born again and sealed with the Holy Spirit. He is the life of Christ.

Jesus desires for you to live through your new identity as He creates His character and values in your life. The Holy Spirit dwelling inside you cannot sin. He is your portal to the life of Christ

The trouble is human beings switch back and forth between two identities-your natural life at birth and your new life in Christ.

The root of this problem goes back to your decision to live for Christ. The gospel message is very compelling.

Most believers want the gifts offered by Christ but they do not want to pay the price of the Cross. They want the freedom to live for self and share some of their life with God. This does not work with Jesus and will bring misery and destruction. Jesus wants all of you!

The gift of salvation is designed to create a radical change of life. You become baptized into the death and resurrection of Christ. Your life no longer belongs to you.

The Christ follower must take God seriously and seek the will of Jesus above all else. He must walk in oneness with Jesus by faith yielding to the Holy Spirit.

He must submit to the Holy Spirit and give Him authority over all his thoughts, words, and actions.

We switch back to our natural life when we give power to our fleshly desires and emotions.

This is why the Holy Spirit is so important to keep a believer on track with Jesus. We are imperfect human beings and require consistent prayer, reading the Word, and listening to the voice of God.

Commit your works each day to God and pray for wisdom and protection.

We have to make a choice to replicate Jesus in all the moments of life. This is an arduous task and requires the discipline of concentrating on Jesus!

The Christ follower does not have to go looking for a ministry. The work is right in the middle of your life.

We all live in an invisible war between God and Satan. Do not be oblivious to this war as Satan wants to steal, kill and destroy. Satan has targeted all believers and is looking for a weakness to attack you and your family.

Satan is at work today through a legion of demons. Satan’s mission is to destroy the influence of Christ in the world and create havoc with believers.

He who is in me is greater than he who is the world.

Jesus has given you the tools to be a warrior in the kingdom of God.

He has handed you the keys to victory over Satan. You must be bold and confrontative and attack Satan with the words of Jesus.

This is about the principle of binding and loosing as evidenced in the ministry of Jesus. As a believer, Jesus has given you authority to bind the darkness around you and to forbid any evil to enter into heaven. The Christ follower executes this judgement by prayer and intercession binding the demons of darkness to everlasting hell.

No weapon formed against you shall prosper!

Do this work with the tools of the armor of God and speak the blood of Christ over those in bondage to a stronghold.

The loosing of the values of Jesus on earth will last forever in Heaven. Loosing is presenting the gift of salvation to those around you. This is the priority of Christ motivated by His unconditional love.

Loosing is also teaching believers the truths of God and how to walk with Jesus by faith.

Loosing is becoming a fountain of Living Water touching those in your life and dispensing the fragrance of the aroma of Christ everywhere.

Loosing the light of Christ on earth will be preserved forever in heaven.

This is another example of loosing and binding spoken by Isaiah, the prophet. (Isaiah 22:22)

The key of the house of David I will lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut and none shall open.

Isaiah is reminding believers we have the key to the house of God. As a Christ follower you can determine what goes in and what is forbidden.

Jesus has given you authority to overcome all the power, all the influence, and all the forces of darkness!